LAHORE: After a slow week of trading, investors at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) took yet another blow on their portfolios. Uncertainty roamed among investors after an Islamabad-based accountability court set October 13 as the date of indictment for former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law.
The market remained volatile and traded in a narrow band with profit taking in the latter half of the day. The KSE 100 index dropped to an intraday low of 41,004.66 after a loss of 307.93 points and settled down 212.60 points at 41,099.99. The KMI 30 index declined by 605.57 points to 68,578.75 with a bleeding oil and cement sector. The KSE All Share Index was lower by 143.21 points to 29,507.35. The advancers to decliners ratio stood at 92 to 248.
The market volumes ticked at 123.34 million with Azgard Nine Limited (ANL +3.21 per cent) on top. A total of 16.26 million shares were traded in the script. Chakwal Spinning Mills Limited (CWSM -10.08 per cent) followed with 12.08 million shares exchanged. The textile composite sector was top traded with 80 per cent volumes contributed by Azgard Nine Limited (ANL +3.21 per cent) alone.
As the result season came to a climax, a number of companies declared financials. Flying Cement Company Limited (FLYNG -2.50 per cent) posted flat sales for the year ended June 30, 2017. Sales stood at Rs 2.47 billion but gross profit margins improved from 6.73 per cent to 8.23 per cent. Operating profit margins were constant at 8 per cent while net profit margins inched up to 6.53 per cent from 5.88 per cent. Profit after taxation was recorded at Rs 1.61 billion which converted into per share earnings of Rs 0.92.
Power Cement Limited (POWER -4.47 per cent) pushed sales up by 8.11 per cent to Rs 4.48 billion. Gross profit margins were stable at 22 per cent with operating profit margin of 18 per cent. Net profit clocked at Rs 4.67 billion along with per-share earnings of Rs 1.14.
Khyber Tobacco Company Limited (KHTC +5.00 per cent) managed to touch the upper circuit breaker after the declaration of Rs 33.21 dividend per share. Sales jumped 35 per cent pushing up profits by 173 per cent. Earnings per share grew from Rs 57.92 to Rs 158.04.
